Hi, so this chapter took longer than I expected. I had to put in more words here so I wasn't able to finish publishing it immediately. My apologies for that. I hope this delay was worth it. I was busy with online classes and the profs kept stacking up works so I didn't have that much time to work on this. Anyway, please enjoy the last chapter of this fanfic.
Day - Sunday
Time - Evening
Location - Café Leblanc
Ren and Ryuji had just finished their session and Ryuji was preparing to go home. Ren worked hard to help Ryuji be prepared for the exams the next day and the upcoming days. He was writing down notes in Ryuji's notebooks as guidance.
"Okay," Ren said as he finished writing notes in Ryuji's notebooks and then he handed them to Ryuji, "This should be everything you're going to need. I leave the rest to you from now on."
"Got it," Ryuji replied, "Thanks man!"
The two boys gave a handshake before calling it a day. Ryuji bid his goodbye then went downstairs and went home. Ren was just staring towards the stairs, somewhat smiling. Morgana walked going to the stairs and talked to Ren.
"Don't you think you're spoon-feeding him too much?" Morgana asked.
"Who? Ryuji?" said Ren, "I think I've been of great help though."
"I mean, you've practically written down almost everything he needs in his notebooks. I know you want to help him, but this really won't help him in the long run."
Ren looked down at Morgana, smiling, and he picked up Morgana from the floor.
"Hey!" Morgana was trying to break free, "Put me down!"
"I think he deserves it," Ren said, going to the attic sofa and bringing down Morgana there, "If I hadn't helped him, he's doomed to failure."
"Yeah, but," Morgana brought up, "If you keep doing this, he's gonna fully depend on you too much."
Ren smiled and patted Morgana's head.
"You really do care for him don't you?" he told the cat.
"Wha-," Morgana was being in denial, "Hell no!"
"You do. Not only are you concerned of his life here in the real world, but a while ago, you were even cheering for him every time he answered my questions correctly."
"Yeah, but, you do realize I also insulted him every time he got them wrong too."
"It motivated him. You helped him prove his potential."
Morgana didn't want to say much.
"Deny it or not," Ren added, "Both of you really get along despite always teasing and bantering each other. Remember that time we were exploring Mementos?"
"What do you mean?" Morgana asked.
"When he started singing the 'Railroad' song, you even sang along with him. How did that song go again?"
Ren suddenly remembered the lyrics and sung the first part of the song.
"I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day ~"
Morgana continued singing the song with Ren.
"I've been working on the railroad, just to pass the time away ~"
Ren continued singing the song again.
"Can't you hear the whistle blowing, rise up so early in the morn ~"
Morgana added the next lyrics to the song.
"Can't you hear the captain shouting, Dinah, blow your horn ~"
Ren and Morgana laughed as they stopped singing the song. Morgana admits that he did have several good times with Ryuji.
"I guess he is a breath of fresh air at times," he said, "But he seriously needs to shut up at times."
"Well," said Ren, "I won't deny that. But honestly, I don't really mind that much that he's a loudmouthed idiot."
"You sure? He literally almost exposes our identity every time we let him be for like a few seconds."
"Yeah, you're right. To be honest, I really want to choke him every time he does anything too careless or stupid. But still, I could never hate him despite all that."
"You guys really are best friends, huh?"
"Yep, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."
Ren told Morgana the whole story on how he and Ryuji met. Ryuji told Ren about Kamoshida and how he thinks of the school as his castle, and the Metaverse app acted upon his words. Even though it was by accident, Ryuji was the reason why they were able to discover Kamoshida's palace, and that's where they found Morgana as well. As they escaped from the palace, the two boys told their stories and how both of them were being treated like outcasts by their peers. Since they found out about each other's past, they swore to never leave each other's sides and they have been bonding like brothers ever since. Morgana was impressed with how strong their bonds are.
"Damn," said Morgana, "Never thought Ryuji had this side in him. Must feel real nice that someone treats you like his best bro, huh?"
"Haha, guess so," Ren said, quite happily, "He acts all high and mighty with this whole Phantom Thieves business and sometimes almost exposes our identity. But when we're hanging out together, I always get to see his good side and he's always been my best friend ever since. I guess you can say I'm doing all these for him as repayment for being a great bro to me."
"Well, It's nice that you two really get along. But I seriously don't think doing this will help him in the future."
"He'll learn someday. I'm just doing what I can to help him as his best friend."
"You sure are one kind-hearted guy. I honestly wish we can see that side of Ryuji more often when we're all together."
It was already getting late. Ren placed the table aside and went to sleep immediately to refresh his mind for the exam the upcoming day. Ren was happy to be of great help to his best friend. But he also knows that Ryuji should learn to be more independent as well. He's only doing this temporarily until Ryuji learns to be more diligent.
*1 week later
Day - Monday
Time - Lunchtime
Location - Shujin Academy
A week has passed after the exam season. The results of the top students is already being shown. Some students were panicking that they got lower than they expected. However, Ren checked the results and sees that he's at the top of his class again.
"Great job," Morgana said quietly from Ren's bag, "Just as I expected from you."
"I wonder how Ryuji did," Ren thought to himself.
Ryuji was walking along the hallway and looked for Ren and tell him the results. He met up with Ren on the way.
"Hey man!" Ren greeted, "How's you do?"
"Well..." Ryuji was hiding his results at the moment, then he showed him the results, feeling rather excited, "JUST ENOUGH TO GET THAT PRIZE!"
Ryuji showed his test results to Ren. All of them had a score of at least 85. Ryuji even managed to get an 88 in his Social Studies test, which is impressive for his standards.
"Good job!" Ren congratulated as he raised his hand up, "High five brother!"
Ryuji raised his right hand and gave Ren a high five. Then Ren reached for his bag to give Ryuji his reward. It looked like a pink voucher with the picture of a maid on it. He handed it over to Ryuji.
"Whoa," Ryuji said, "What is this?"
"It's a voucher worth 5000 yen that can only be used at the Akihabara Maid Cafe," Ren answered, "I won it after receiving several stamps from my visits. I have another one for myself too right here."
Ren showed him another voucher similar to what Ryuji is holding.
"'Operation Maidwatch' was a failure," said Ren, "Figured you might enjoy some maid service to make up for it."
Ryuji smiled and placed an arm around Ren.
"Thanks man!" Ryuji said happily, "You're the best bro anyone could ever have."
Ren stared at Ryuji and smiled back at him. He always loved seeing his best friend happy.
"So... when do you think we should go?" Ryuji asked.
"The voucher will be available to use for the entire month," Ren answered, "You wanna go tomorrow after school?"
"Nah. It'd be awkward as well if we went there wearing our school uniforms."
"Wanna go this Sunday, then?"
"Sure, man! Also, I wasn't able to train last week cause of the exams and all. What say we go to the gym later?"
"Sorry dude. I can't. I already agreed to help out with Sojiro at the café later. But I'll be sure to hang out with you within the week. Just tell me your plans okay?"
"Of course man! I'll tell you whenever I'm available. I got your back just like you got mine."
After a while, the school bell already rang and lunch break was over. The two best buds bro-fisted and returned to their respective classrooms.
Day - Sunday
Time - Daytime
Location - Akihabara Maid Café
Several days have passed again, and Ren and Ryuji made there way inside the Akihabara Maid Café as Ren promised to treat Ryuji for his exam results. Morgana stayed in Leblanc for the time being. The café was filled with a dominantly pink ambience and pictures of what appear to be silhouettes wearing maid uniforms were present around the place. The amount of pink vibes in the café was enough to startle the sensitive eyes.
"Duuuudee..." Ryuji told Ren as they looked for a seat, "This place has pink written all over it. It kinda hurts my eyes."
"Well I warned you about this," Ren told his friend, "Don't worry though. Everything else is enjoyable."
The two boys sat down and viewed the menu. To make the most out of it, it was best to select the option that is closest to the voucher's value. A brown-haired maid with bangs has approached their table, ready to take their order.
"Good afternoooon masteeerrr!" the maid greeted, "It sure is nice to seeee you againnnnn. I see that you brought a friend today. How may I help you masterr?"
Ryuji was aroused by the maid's appearance and charm. He was also surprised that the maid already knows Ren.
"Are you a regular here man?" Ryuji asked his best friend.
"I've been going here quite often," Ren answered, "Though it's my first time here with someone else. Here's the menu to guide you."
Ryuji went and looked at what was written. There were only four options to choose from: the 'relaxing coffee', the 'oo-hot tea', the 'love pancake', and the 'sincere omelette'. The 'sincere omelette' costed exactly 5000 yen which was equivalent to the voucher's cost.
"I'll go with this one then," Ryuji said, pointing at the 'sincere omelette' option.
"Good choice," said Ren, "I'll show you something interesting later. You'll be impressed."
"For real?! What is it?"
"You'll find out."
Ren winked at Ryuji. Ryuji is unaware with what Ren is scheming. Ren is a master of tricks, as evidenced by the fact that he has 'Joker' as his codename. It must be something worth seeing. Ren went with the same order to match the price of the 5000 yen voucher he has as well.
"Okayy," the maid said, "That's two orders of the sincere omelette right? Ahaha. Okay masterrr. Coming right uuppp."
The maid took their orders and set off. The atmosphere of the place felt new for Ryuji, but he was enjoying it so far. A thought came to his mind while waiting for their orders. Ren mentioned that he was planning to take Makoto in this place if Ryuji failed to reach the score. Why would Ren take Makoto on a date to the maid café?
"Hey bro," Ryuji talked to his best friend.
"What is it man?" Ren asked.
"I've been thinking. Back when we studied together, you told me that if I didn't reach the score I should get, you'll be taking Makoto on a date here instead, right?"
Ren knew what Ryuji was thinking about.
"Well," said Ren, "I think it's time I told you the truth."
"What do you mean?" Ryuji asked, all confused.
Ren told the whole truth about what he told Ryuji during the study session.
"In all honesty," said Ren, "Even though you didn't reach the score I told you to get, I still would've given you the voucher and I would taken you here anyway. The whole date plan I had with Makoto was actually a lie."
"FOR REAL?!" Ryuji asked, shocked and unsure of what to think.
"Yep," Ren continued, "You heard me. I would still take you here even though you didn't get that score. And before you ask the next question, the whole thing I told you about banning you from our activities for a month if you failed in at least one of your tests? That was actually a lie as well. You're a very important member to us. We can't abandon you, nor anyone from being part of our infiltrations."
Ryuji was unsure of how to feel. Ren's words made him get a higher score than usual, but the whole condition thing he was given was nothing more than a lie.
"If... you were gonna do all these for me anyway," Ryuji said, a little doubtful, "Then what was the point of telling me those conditions?"
"I wanted to test you," Ren admitted, and his best friend frowned a bit, "I wanted to see how well you can do if you actually put in effort into studying. Had I not given them to you, you probably would've ended up failing again. That's why I tried to do what I can do to help you. You're probably... disappointed about me telling this to you. But I'll be serious right now with what I'm about to tell you."
Ryuji listened carefully to Ren's words despite his confused feeling.
"I can't let you forget about the other things that you should be doing," Ren spoke, "I did what I can do. It's not good that you end up skipping your obligations just because we also have another life than this. You ain't the smartest guy out there, but that doesn't give you a reason to forget about the other things that you should be doing, especially knowing how many times you've failed before. I hope you understand that I did all this for you. I couldn't think of any other way."
Ryuji doesn't like being lied to, and yet he didn't mind what his best friend did. It helped him do better and unleash his potential.
"It's okay man," Ryuji admitted, "It was mostly my fault anyway. I should've known better than to neglect them."
"You don't have to fully blame yourself for your shortcomings," said Ren, "I know it's not easy, but you can do better."
The whole serious mood kind of embarrassed Ryuji. They went here to have fun but they're discussing about life all of a sudden.
"Hey ummm..." he said, "This whole talk is kinda making me uncomfortable. I get that you're always there to help me but... can we drop that shit for now?"
Ren gave Ryuji a smile as he knew what Ryuji meant.
"Haha," Ren giggled, "You're right. That can wait. Just promised you'll try to do better from now on."
"I will I will," Ryuji answered.
The mood lightened with the two boys and they just ended their conversation with a laugh. They acted like complete dorks but they enjoyed each other's company. The maid arrived just in time with their orders.
"Thank you for waiting masterr!" the maid said, placing the two omelettes down on the table, "Now it's time to draw with sincerity on your omelettes."
Ren stared at Ryuji with a mischievous look, as if he was plotting something.
"Watch what I'm about to do," Ren winked.
Ryuji was unaware with what Ren was planning. He felt really curious about what was going to happen. Like during the past visits of Ren, the maid messed up the drawing and accidentally spread ketchup all over the two omelettes.
"Oh nooooo!" the maid was trying to act guilty, "I messed up. I-I'm sorry master. Please forgive my mistake."
Ryuji didn't know what to say. He felt like wanting to complain, but he was too nice and felt nervous about it.
"Ummm..." Ryuji mumbled, "I-It's okay. D-Don't worry."
However, Ren felt a different way. He flicked his glasses and gave an intimidating glare to the maid.
"FIX IT!" he said to the maid with a dark, scary vibe, "I forgave you before but you keep messing up. So FIX IT!"
"Oh my!" the maid acted all sad and embarrassed, "You're right. I should definitely fix it for you masterrr. Don't worry, I will make sure I get it right this time."
But Ren just laughed and told the maid, "Hahahahaha. I'm just kidding. All is forgiven."
"Is that so?" the maid asked with a cute, blushing smile, "Ahahaha. Thank you master! Enjoy our meal."
The maid then attended to the other tables. Ryuji was shocked to see this side of Ren, but was also impressed by it.
"Duuuuuuuuuuddddee!" he expressed, "How do you even do that?"
"It honestly took me some practice," Ren admitted, "I've been visiting this maid café for quite some time already. The maid always messes up whenever I order this. It's almost as if she's doing it on purpose. I often forgave her during my first visits. But after building some courage, I was able to hell her to fix it, and she did. Then after even more practice, I learned the art of manipulating her emotions. I learned how to trick her by acting all angry and pissed when she messes up. She suddenly acts all embarrassed and guilty, would sometimes even beg for mercy, but I then shrug it off and tell her that I'm kidding. Then all the sudden, she feels flattered and gives a smile. Trust me man, it's really entertaining."
Ryuji gave Ren an impressed smile.
"You've got guts my dude," Ryuji spoke in his punk-like tone, "I should really try that some time."
"Think you can handle it?" Ren asked.
"We'll see. Come on, let's eat! The omelettes are getting kinda cold."
The two boys started eating their food. Despite being overly filled with ketchup, it still tasted really good. Just as they were in the middle of their meal, Ren's phone received a message notification.
"I think you should check it out," said Ryuji, "It might be important."
Ren got his phone out of the pocket. He checked his messages and there was a notification from a boy with a spiky blue-tinted black hair. It was Mishima, the admin of the 'Phantom Aficionado Website', or simply known as the 'Phan-site', that collects requests to be sent to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
Mishima: Hi! Good day. I've received new intel on a target that some people have been going on about.
Ryuji felt pumped that this looked like a sign of a new Mementos heist.
"A new request huh?" he said, "Let's get to it!"
"SHHHHH," Ren silenced his best friend.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Ren continued to ask details about the target from Mishima.
Ren: What seems to be the problem?
Mishima: People from around various areas here in Tokyo have been complaining about a couple that scams others with their dirty scheme.
Ren: A couple that scams people?
Mishima: Yep. By "a couple", I mean, they're married. A husband and a wife are both scamming people with their malicious fraud.
Ren: What do they do exactly?
Mishima: So, here's the type of fraud that they're doing. First, the wife hooks up with a guy, claiming that she's single and is looking forward to entering a relationship. Then, after the wife has successfully tricked the victim, specifically the man whom accepted the wife's offer to engage in a relationship, the husband suddenly appears, takes a picture of the victim with the wife, and accuses the guy of infidelity. The husband then forces the victim to pay a fine that does not go any lower than 25 000 yen. If the victim refuses, the couple then charges the victim of adultery, making the victim seem like the bad guy when it was all a trick for the couple to earn money from them.
Ren: That sounds horrible! They're manipulating victims into thinking that they should be guilty of cheating when the woman claimed to be single to them in the first place.
Mishima: That's right. And it doesn't even stop there.
Ren: What do you mean?
Mishima: The couple only gives the victim one day to accomplish this. If they can't give the couple what they're asking for within the day, they charge a much higher fine that increases by 10 000 yen per day that they fail to pay the price. You can just imagine how hard the situation is for the victims that couldn't pay the price for the exact same day. Their fine will just keep increasing each day that they fail to attain the amount.
Ren: Didn't anyone report this to the police? How come they aren't doing anything about this case. The victims or some of the witnesses should've tried doing something about it.
Mishima: Apparently, when people tried to report the couple, the police couldn't do anything due to a "lack of concrete evidence". In fact, the police sided with the couple often and claimed that the victims should actually pay the fine that was charged to them.
Ren: This is bullshit! "Lack of concrete evidence" my ass. Do you know the husband's and the wife's name?
Mishima: Yes. According to the people in the Phan-site, the name of the woman is Haruhi Furukawa and the name of the man is Shiki Furukawa.
Ren: Okay thanks. Don't worry, the Phantom Thieves will surely do something about this rotten couple.
Mishima: That's good to know. Anyway, I still have other stuff to do. Good luck and I hope the couple finally starts to have a change of heart soon. See you.
Ren placed down his phone after chatting with Mishima. Ryuji was reading the text as well through Ren's phone and he also agrees that the couple should be taught a lesson or two.
"We should really do something about this," he said, "You think we should tell this to the others later?"
"Yeah," said Ren, "We also have two pending requests that I received within the week."
"For real?! Let me see."
"Okay, but remember. We're in a public place. We have to discuss this silently.
Ren opened his phone again. Ryuji placed his chair nearer Ren's seat so that they can check on the other two targets besides the one they gathered just right now.
"First," Ren said, "There's this guy named Akihisa Takagi. There's been news that children have mysteriously gone missing, and this guy is the culprit behind it. He offers to be a clown during events for kids like birthday parties and others. He claims to the parents during the parties that he will take the children with him for a while as he will give the children gifts that he claims is a surprise to be given to the parents and other older guests that are with them. However, after the kids have disappeared after waiting for a long time, the children's companions would check the area and they realized that their kids have gone missing. Up until now, they are still unaware of the whereabouts of their children, nor do they know if the kids are still alive or in danger.
"This is real bad," Ryuji said, trying to suppress his anger, "But shouldn't the culprit have been caught by now considering the complaints and all?"
"According to the victims and witnesses, this guy changes his clown outfit regularly, meaning that the people accepting his request are completely clueless as to whether he is the culprit or not. He's what you would call a 'master of disguise'. Not that I should be impressed about it."
Ryuji slammed his right fist to his left palm.
"We better teach that guy a lesson," he said, "I hope he didn't do anything harmful to the children."
"Right," said Ren, "And here's the other request I also received within the week."
Ren clicked on the request in his phone.
"This is about a student from Kosei High School," said Ren, "The school that both Yusuke and Hifumi attend to. This guy gets away with plagiarism by making the other student seem like he or she was the one who copied his work. Several students have been punished, even to the point of expulsion, due to what this guy was doing. He would ask for other students' works as guidance but he ultimately steals them in the end and the other student gets the punishment instead. Students of Kosei High tried reporting the student, but to no avail were they able to convince the school's authority figures. The student's father is a close friend to the school's principal, meaning that he has strong ties with the school board. It would probably explain why the school's authorities refused to take any action regarding this matter."
"Bullshit!" Ryuji said, rather loudly.
"Again SHHH!" Ren reminded, "You're making us sound suspicious."
"Sorry man. It's just that this whole thing pisses me off. The student's getting away with plagiarism all because his father has strong ties with the principal. It kinda reminded me of why our principal refused to have Kamoshida fired despite all the abuses the students had to go through him all because he was able to take the volleyball team to nationals. What's the name of the student anyway?"
"After speaking with Hifumi about it, I heard that the guy's name was Hanako Kawasaki. He's also a 2nd year student along with Yusuke and Hifumi."
Hearing that they received multiple requests again, Ryuji's thirst for justice got him pumped up.
"Think we should have everyone gather up soon?" he asked Ren.
"Sure," said Ren, "But for now, let's make the most out of our time while we're here."
"That's what I'm talkin about!"
Ryuji felt hyped that they will get to do their Phantom Thieves activities again. However, he also thought about the other stuff that Ren told him about. Despite the boredom he feels when trying to study, he shouldn't use the Phantom Thieves as an excuse to forget about his obligations as a student. He promised to himself to try better and not to get distracted during exam season.
After using their vouchers to pay for their meal, the two best buds made their way out of the maid café and prepared for their next mission. Ren contacted everyone to gather at their hideout in Leblanc to discuss about their targets and trigger a change of heart in them. After several weeks of preparing for the exams, the Phantom Thieves are back in action and made their way to Mementos for their next heist.
If anyone's wondering, there's actually an in-game Mementos dialogue in which Ryuji starts singing the railroad song and Morgana sings along with him. It was probably one of my favorite Mementos dialogues because you get to see them playing along with each other instead of berating and insulting one another. Once again, sorry for the delay. This chapter took me days to finish and I really hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave a review so that I can work on improving the writing quality of future works. I still have more Persona 5 fanfics planned for writing so I hope you all look forward to reading them
Revived Hero - Signing out!